


Captured Light

by plumtrees



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Architecture major mattsun, Established Relationship, Fluff, Future Fic, M/M, Photography student makki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-23
Updated: 2015-11-23
Packaged: 2018-05-03 02:07:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5272526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plumtrees/pseuds/plumtrees
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p>“The smile you’re wearing in this photo,” Hanamaki continued, just a little bit sad, “you haven’t smiled like that in a long time.”</p>
  <p>Matsukawa looked at the photo again. It was awkward; it always was, seeing himself through Hanamaki’s lens. He’d never really focused on himself whenever he looked at the photos Hanamaki took of him, but now his eyes actively trailed over his face, the crinkle of his eyes, the twinkle in them from the light reflecting off of his cellphone, the smile wide enough to show an entire row of teeth.</p>
  <p>He tried to emulate the expression, only to realize how foreign it felt on his face.</p>
</blockquote>A love story like most love stories, stuck between busy days and too little time spent together.<p>Matsukawa learns to take it easy, and Hanamaki is his teacher.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Captured Light

**Author's Note:**

> *glances around MatsuHana hell* how the fuck did I get here again
> 
> not gonna lie this was entirely born from Hanamaki's stage play actor having that [candid picture of Matsukawa's stage play actor on his blog](http://41.media.tumblr.com/dc97ff6c79ffbbbf2420282ec90af8a8/tumblr_ny2fvjIL9U1uftod2o2_500.png)

Matsukawa jumped slightly when he heard a tell-tale click, the smile on his face slipping as he turned to see Hanamaki; one of his cameras blocking his eyes, but not the mischievous grin filling up half his face.

It was expected. Ever since he took up the photography minor, Matsukawa’s been (un?)fortunate enough to be Hanamaki’s muse for a grand majority of his projects. Most of Hanamaki’s professors even recognized him because more than half of the pictures in Hanamaki’s portfolio constituted him as an element, main subject or otherwise. Matsukawa frowned when Hanamaki snapped another photo, finally noticing that it wasn’t the DSLR he was holding.

“Isn’t that your film camera? Shouldn’t you be saving it?”

Hanamaki put down the gadget, shrugging as he checked how many shots he had left. “I got a ton from my dad last week. Besides, it’s not _that_ expensive.”

Matsukawa raised his eyebrow, lips closing around the straw of his drink as Hanamaki repositioned the cutlery before taking a picture with his upper body flat on the table.

“Still seems wasteful.”

Hanamaki hummed, moved an inch or two to the left, before saying, “Photos of _you_ are never a waste though.”

Matsukawa promptly choked on his drink. Hanamaki looked up at him in alarm, but Matsukawa quickly turned away, wiping his face with the back of his hand. “Fucking _unfair_ , Taka.”

Hanamaki continued to stare at him in confusion, a crease in the space between his eyebrows. “What?”

_Seriously?_

“Oh wait, hold that thought.”

Matsukawa looked to see him angled towards the raindrops clinging to the window. Quickly, Hanamaki adjusted something in his camera that Matsukawa can’t even begin to comprehend, eyes wide in concentration.

He turned to his subject again, finally snapping a picture, before dropping his camera and facing Matsukawa, a content smile on his face. “Okay, you were saying?”

Matsukawa stared at Hanamaki, lit by city lights bouncing off of the raindrops and splitting into a million sparkling little gems. He quickly inhaled through his nose when he realized that the odd tightening in his chest was because he’d somehow stopped breathing.

“Nothing.”

Hanamaki stared at him with a raised eyebrow, a look that Matsukawa didn’t think was so effective, considering how faint they were. He reached out and poked him on the nose, smiling as it scrunched beneath his finger. Hanamaki batted it and busied himself with tucking his camera away.

“What were you smiling at anyway?”

Matsukawa handed his phone over to show him Iwaizumi’s latest video snap: Iwaizumi stuffing a handful of ice cubes down Oikawa’s shirt and watching him flail around trying to get it out. Hanamaki laughed hard enough for the other patrons to send their table nasty looks.

“Keep it down.” he hissed, but couldn’t for the life of him school his expression into a glare. Hanamaki’s laughs were always sprinkled with an awful snorting sound. To someone else, it probably sounded like he was choking on something, but Matsukawa always found it endearing.

“You gotta admit though, that’s hilarious.” Hanamaki gasped, still cackling. “He jumped like he was hitting a serve!”

Hanamaki finally settled down when a waiter came over to lightly rebuke them, but the fond smile on Matsukawa’s face stayed the whole time.

 

-

 

And it dropped right off his face when he made the mistake of checking his phone, midway through their date.

Hanamaki looked up from picking at his carrots. “Something wrong, Issei?”

“My amazingly responsible groupmate is and I quote _taking care of a sick aunt_ , so he can’t submit our paper to our professor.” he growled, unable to keep the genuine anger from his tone. “Remind me again why we decided to give him the most important job?”

“Because he’s one of those guys who can’t be trusted to do much aside from send an email,” Hanamaki imitated, resting an elbow on the table, “as you so eloquently put it, but apparently he can’t even do _that_ much. Can’t your other groupmates do it?”

“I’m trying.”

Matsukawa sighed after receiving messages from two other groupmates telling him they were out of town. He slowly felt his expression contort into a scowl, remembering his laptop in his dorm. His roommate was out studying. There was no one else he could ask to access his files for him.

Matsukawa chewed on the inside of his cheek, thinking hard, but before he could say anything, Hanamaki sighed and made an offhand waving gesture.

“I know, I know. Duty calls.” he rested a chin against his palm, trying to look casual but Matsukawa could _feel_ his underlying disappointment. “When’s the paper due?”

He glanced at the time on his phone screen. “In about an hour.”

Hanamaki suddenly perked up, looking alarmed. “Well what are you waiting for? It’ll take you at least twenty minutes to get to your dorm!”

Matsukawa’s eyes widened, a protest bubbling in his throat. Hanamaki gave him a grave face in return.

“Go, Issei. I mean it. That paper’s 25% of your grade.”

Matsukawa opened his mouth but the words died under Hanamaki’s glare.

“Let me at least pay for dinner.” Matsukawa insisted, already reaching for his wallet. Hanamaki quickly slapped Issei’s other hand flat on the table.

“I asked you out tonight, I’m paying.” Hanamaki said sternly. “Though in exchange for cutting our date short, I get to eat your dessert.”

Matsukawa shrunk in his seat. “I’ll get you cream puffs the next time we go out. I’ll get you a whole box of them.”

“We’re already boyfriends, Issei, no need to try so hard.” he leaned over the table and kissed Matsukawa on the cheek, a reassuring smile on his face. “Go on.”

As Matsukawa made his way back to the dorm, he cheered himself up by imagining what his useless groupmates would look like with broken noses.

 

-

 

Despite the rude interruption, Matsukawa was at least glad they managed to sneak in some time with each other before all hell broke loose. The week after was filled with deadlines, and Matsukawa barely had enough energy left to even text Hanamaki the usual goodnight before collapsing in his bed, only enough time for a whole hour of sleep before he had to go back to drafting plates and studying.

The week after _that_ was no better for either of them, with the photography classes’ exhibit coming up and Matsukawa’s exams happening one after the other, they’d barely had time to talk, let alone see each other. By Wednesday, Matsukawa woke up feeling a horrible sense of withdrawal.

 _Three more days, Issei._ he thought, as he struggled to wake up after a measly three hours of sleep. His phone continued to beep obnoxiously beside him, and just as he was about to swipe to shut it up, the sound changed to his ringtone, the screen displaying Hanamaki’s face. Quickly, he accepted the call and pressed the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Calling just in case your alarm didn’t do the job for you.” Hanamaki chirped, far too cheerful considering it was seven in the morning. Matsukawa, despite his weariness, smiled at the memory of the last time that happened.

“Much appreciated. Though I’m surprised _you’re_ awake.”

“Took some last-minute early morning shots for the exhibit.” he said. Matsukawa hummed in acknowledgment. “You sound awful though, make sure you get some sleep after the exam, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“ _After_ the exam, Issei, not _during_.”

“Hey, that happened _one_ time.”

Hanamaki laughed. “As your boyfriend-slash-best friend I am tasked with the noble duty of never letting you live down your embarrassing moments.”

“Noble duty, my ass.” he groaned as he finally got up from bed, shaking the remaining sleep out of his system. “I gotta go, talk to you later.”

“Good luck! Hugs and kisses and cream puffs and cheese-filled burgers and all that lovey-dovey shit.”

Matsukawa laughed as Hanamaki made a loud, wet kissing noise from the other end before hanging up.

 

-

 

Matsukawa left his last exam of the term with a victorious whoop, high-fiving and fist-bumping classmates he didn’t even remember the names of as they sprinted across the hallways, finally reveling in their first taste of freedom in _weeks_.

By the time he reached his dorm room, he immediately powered on his laptop and turned on his phone swiping away at his contacts until he spotted his intended victim. He pressed it against his ear, waiting for Hanamaki to answer with an expectant _Hello? Issei?_ before hovering it over his laptop’s speaker.

[ _Now I’m freeeeeeeeee~_ ](https://youtu.be/kBrD7CDKeA0?t=212)

“Oh, fucking hell, Issei!”

Matsukawa laughed as he heard a loud clattering from Hanamaki’s end, followed by a stream of curses. Mercifully, he turned down the music before Hanamaki’s voice came back.

“You _know_ I hate John Mayer!”

“I know, that’s why I love him.”

There was silence, just brief enough for one Hanamaki eyeroll. “Okay, asshole, so I guess the exam went well?”

“Yes? No? Maybe I shaded all the wrong circles, I don’t even care at this point, all I know is that I’m _free_!” he jumped on his bed, rolling the last vowel in his mouth until Hanamaki growled. “How are things going on your end?”

“Pretty good. I’m done setting up so I’m just helping the ones who need it.”

“Aww, my boyfriend the saint.”

“Geez, you really _are_ in a good mood.” there was a pause, then a flurry of panicked gibberish. “Anyway, glad to hear you’re okay but some idiot just thought it was a good idea to use a ladder on the stairs so I’m gonna intervene before someone dies.”

“Let him get a concussion. It’s a good life lesson.”

“Well, we can’t all be sadists now, can we?” Hanamaki snapped back, but Matsukawa could hear the smile in his voice. “See you tonight. Love you.”

“Love you too. Good luck.”

Matsukawa dropped the call with a dazed smile, too high on finally finishing the semester. He stretched and sagged against the bed with a yawn. Maybe he’d get a light nap in before Hanamaki’s exhibit.

Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

 

-

 

 _Bad idea_ Matsukawa’s thoughts screamed as he ran for the Fine Arts building while simultaneously buttoning up his polo, careful not to jostle the box of cream puffs hanging from his fingers. He stumbled through the doors and gasped in a breath. God, Oikawa was never gonna let him live it down if he saw how bent out of shape he was.

He straightened up and one of Hanamaki’s friends, a sleepy-eyed brunette whose name Matsukawa couldn’t remember, instantly caught sight of him and pointed to the gallery’s left wing, eyebrows upturned in sympathy. Matsukawa inclined his head in thanks.

Matsukawa navigated his way through the throng of people, but he finally saw a plaque containing the kanji for Hanamaki’s name. He looked around anxiously, hoping to catch sight of his boyfriend before—

“Issei!” someone yelled and he nearly overbalanced in his haste to turn in the general direction of the voice, feeling equal amounts dread and joy at seeing Hanamaki jogging over to where he stood. “Hey, you’re here!”

“Of course I am.” Matsukawa replied, too quickly. He thrust the box at Hanamaki’s face, hoping that it would at least keep Hanamaki from murdering him. “Sorry I’m late I forgot to set up an alarm and I said I’d just nap real quick but when I woke up was already—mph!”

Hanamaki looked like he was struggling not to laugh, scratching his head sheepishly with the hand not covering Matsukawa’s mouth. “I figured you fell asleep, and given the fact that you probably haven’t had any decent amount of it in the past week, I decided to just let you rest.”

Matsukawa gently pried Hanamaki’s hand away, still too jittery with guilt. “I promised I’d see your exhibit. I can make up for lost sleep some other time.”

Hanamaki sighed exasperatedly, reaching over to take the box from him with one hand and reaching out with the other. “Well if you insist. But for your trouble, you get the honor of being toured around the exhibit by the artist himself.”

Matsukawa slipped his hand into Hanamaki’s, letting him lead the way. The students had put up dividers so that each artist got their own private niche and Hanamaki’s corner was designed to look like a living room; the fake walls containing rows of photos hanging from a length of loose twine, held in place by wood clothespins.

He smiled as he browsed through the photos, recognizing some that Hanamaki took while they were out together. The arrangement of the photos itself told a story. The first row contained photographs split in the middle, the left side depicting the location when it was most crowded, and the right side showing it completely empty.

“To think that a year ago you didn’t even know how to hold a camera properly.” He murmured as he browsed through the second row, smiling at a picture of tree branches that seemingly parted for Hanamaki’s shot, moonlight trickling through translucent petals. “This is amazing, Takahiro.”

Hanamaki preened under the praise, fingers squirming in the spaces between Matsukawa’s. The third row contained pictures of people: strangers, friends, family, all locked in mundane tasks. One was a grayscale photo of Hanamaki’s grandmother drinking tea, but the way Hanamaki captured the photo made the steam curling across her face so prominent, almost like clouds.

Another was of Hanamaki’s roommate pulling back the curtains of their window, motes dancing in the morning sunlight. It was a shot taken from behind, with Hanamaki probably contorting to get as good of an angle as possible. It made the subject look like a theater actor greeting his audience as the curtains parted before him.

The photo after that...

His breath hitched. He stepped a little closer just to confirm what he’d seen.

It was a picture of _him_. The picture Hanamaki had taken when they last had dinner together. He could see every thread on the cream and maroon-accented sweater he was wearing that day. Hanamaki even managed to fit in the frame a portion of his hand, the ring he had matching with Hanamaki visible on his index finger. The background was slightly out of focus, making the restaurant’s dim lamps look like ethereal balls of light.

It was, admittedly, a good photo, but Matsukawa didn’t understand why it deserved a place in Hanamaki’s exhibit, alongside some of his best photographs.

Hanamaki sidled up closer, their shoulders bumping lightly. “Personally, that’s the best photo I’ve taken recently.”

Matsukawa looked at him, but Hanamaki’s eyes were glued on the rectangular piece of paper. Something burned bright and soft in his gaze as he stared at the photograph; Matsukawa had to look away.

“What’s so special about this?”

Hanamaki laughed, leaning more of his weight against Matsukawa. “Well, I could go on forever about the technical aspect of it. Not to mention the fact that the model is smoking hot—” Matsukawa jabbed an elbow into his side, earning a yelp.

“Okay, fine, for real though.” Hanamaki started, rubbing his sore spot. “You know how human memory is imperfect? How the memory can corrode over time, or how we can actually start remembering things different from how they really happened?”

Matsukawa nodded, but Hanamaki still had his eyes focused solely on the photo.

“The thing I love most about photography is how it can capture a moment exactly as it is. And not just the image, but the emotions behind that moment, the sounds, the smells. To capture something so fleeting, and turn it into something that lasts forever…”

Hanamaki trailed off, a smile sneaking its way into his face. Matsukawa watched him, completely enamored. Hanamaki had always been most beautiful when talking about the things that made his eyes shine like this.

“The smile you’re wearing in this photo,” Hanamaki continued, just a little bit sad, “you haven’t smiled like that in a long time.”

Matsukawa looked at the photo again. It was awkward; it always was, seeing himself through Hanamaki’s lens. He’d never really focused on himself whenever he looked at the photos Hanamaki took of him, but now his eyes actively trailed over his face, the crinkle of his eyes, the twinkle in them from the light reflecting off of his cellphone, the smile wide enough to show an entire row of teeth.

He tried to emulate the expression, only to realize how foreign it felt on his face.

Out of nowhere, Hanamaki pecked the edge of his mouth. A smile came more naturally this time.

“I fell in love with your sleepy face, but you’re a hundred times more handsome when you smile, did you know that Issei?”

Matsukawa shuffled his feet, feeling heat crawl up his neck. “You’re a sap, Takahiro.”

Hanamaki pouted, swinging their hands gently between them, a habit triggered by nervousness.

“I know your degree’s tough, and I know you don’t get enough sleep most nights,” Hanamaki sneaked in two more kisses, on the dark circles beneath each of Matsukawa’s eyes, “but I just wanna say I appreciate the fact that you still agree to go out for dinner or come over for a night in even when you have a ton of plates you need to do, or something.”

Matsukawa tightened his grip on his hand, brushing his thumb over Hanamaki’s. “Spending time with you is the only thing that keeps me sane nowadays.”

“Now who’s being a sap?” Hanamaki chuckled, the swinging slowing to a stop. “Just so you know, you don’t have to feel guilty for cancelling dates. I’m a college student too, remember? I’d understand.”

“Sorry I worried you.”

Hanamaki pinched his index finger, the ring glinting in the low light. “Don’t apologize! I just told you everything’s fine!”

Matsukawa grinned down at his pouting face. “Sorry.”

“You’re doing that on purpose.”

“Care to explain this row of half-naked people?” Matsukawa quickly asked, gesturing at the black and white photos of people’s backs. Hanamaki glared at him for a moment before sighing in surrender.

“Those are from our studio photography project.” The background for each picture was all black; the lighting threw the bodies of each model into high relief, shadows curving along trenches and valleys of bones and muscles. Hanamaki pointed at one photograph, instantly recognizable as Oikawa from the hairstyle. “Did you know my professor offered me extra credit if I gave her all of Oikawa’s raw shots?”

Matsukawa stuck his tongue out. “Such horrible taste. I would’ve asked for the raw shots of this hunk.” He said, pointing at the photo of Iwaizumi, arms raised above him and hands entwined beside his head. Hanamaki smacked him playfully with the back of his hand.

“And how come _I_ wasn’t invited to model for this project?” he pouted. Hanamaki stuck his nose in the air like an offended child.

“Like hell I’m using you as a model for a half-naked shoot. Those goods are for private viewing only.”

Matsukawa nipped his ear, lips catching on his earrings. “When’s the next screening?”

Hanamaki jerked away from him, a strange expression on his face; like he can’t decide whether to laugh or cry or glare. “God, that was _awful_. Have you been spending time with Oikawa lately?”

Matsukawa poked him between the ribs in retaliation, grabbing him around the waist when he instinctively tried to jump away.

“How much longer before this is over?” he whispered low against the crook of Hanamaki’s shoulder. “I wanna get in bed in cuddle right _now_.”

Hanamaki glanced over at his watch before turning to him with a not-so-apologetic grin. “Two more hours?”

Matsukawa groaned out a curse and Hanamaki nearly doubled over in laughter at the face he pulled; the ugly laugh with the snorts and choking sounds that made people stare in alarm. Matsukawa watched him for a few seconds, unimpressed, then suddenly a smile crawled its way onto his face, slow and easy.

He spun his boyfriend around in his arms and stole a kiss from Hanamaki’s mouth, mid-laugh and all.

 

-

 

_Matsukawa-san, Hanamaki,_

_I was assigned to take photos for the exhibit last week, and I just figured you might want this particular one, since I’m pretty sure the university paper won’t be using it for their write up on the event._

_Hope you have a good break ahead!_

_Ennoshita Chikara_  
_2 BFA Film Production_  
_+81-90-XXXX-XXXX_

Download Attachment

(Matsukawa clicked the file as soon as it finished downloading, nearly spitting out his coffee when he saw that it was of him and Hanamaki kissing. One of his hands was on Hanamaki’s hip while the other cradled his face. It was taken just as Hanamaki relaxed against him, fingers twined in his hair, the pink-and-blue box of cream puffs still cradled loosely against his chest. Everything behind them was blurred and the lights scintillated like faraway spotlights.

Matsukawa promptly saved the photo and set it as his phone’s lock screen.)

**Author's Note:**

> I absolutely LOVE the playlist I had on for this fic. This was such a joy to write too, IDK I think it's another indulgent fic but I'm happy with it anyway
> 
> still crying abt the latest ep and chap @ [plumtreeforest.tumblr.com](http://plumtreeforest.tumblr.com)


End file.
